Camera-based touch systems that use optical recording devices such as cameras to acquire images of a touch surface and process the image data to determine the position of a pointer relative to the touch surface are known. For example, International PCT Application No. WO 02/03316 to Smart Technologies Inc. et al discloses a camera-based touch system including a touch surface and a plurality of cameras associated with the touch surface. The cameras have overlapping fields of view encompassing the touch surface. The cameras acquire images of the touch surface from different locations and generate image data. Processing circuitry receives and processes the image data generated by the cameras to determine the location of a pointer captured in the images relative to the touch surface using triangulation.
In particular, a processor associated with each camera receives the image data generated by the camera and processes the image data to detect the existence of the pointer in the image. Pointer information packets (PIPs) are generated by the camera processors when the pointer exists in the captured images. The PIPs, among other things, identify the pointer and either its tip or its median line. The tip or median line data in the PIPs is then processed by a master controller to determine the position of the pointer relative to the touch surface using triangulation.
Although the above-identified camera-based touch system provides significant advantages over other types of prior art passive touch systems such as analog resistive, surface acoustic wave and capacitive touch systems, improvements are always desired. Since the above-described camera-based touch system uses single point triangulation to determine the position of the pointer relative to the touch surface, resolution is limited. In addition, the camera-based touch system does not readily provide for resolution of pointer ambiguity. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved camera-based touch system.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel method of determining the size/scale and orientation of a pointer in a camera-based touch system and to a camera-based touch system employing pointer size/scale and orientation determination.